Mad About Multiples!

Double Click Tuesdays: Snow Bound

It's been such a mild winter, it's hard to remember there is snow to be found! Kayla and Emily are lucky enough to have found some Heavenly snow with dad Dave R.

Perfect for two winter-time angels. Thanks to mom Sandra R. for sharing.

 

 This is an original post to Mad About Multiples and is part of the Double Click Tuesdays photo series.

Taking a Trip? Will Have Fever.

*This is a sponsored post. At the end, you'll find an invitation link to an upcoming talk about children's health and fever related information by Dr. Meg Meeker, hosted by Vicks. The stories, however, are all to true and any opinions are the authors own.*

By Valerie Terry

It never fails. After a week of planning, packing and getting ready to go, it always seems like one of my girls will get sick just as soon as we leave our house on a trip. And when one falls, it's pretty much guaranteed that the other two are soon to follow.

The first, and by far greatest, example is the stomach virus that ripped through us while on a "girls only" road trip. Starting with 10 month old Elise and touching everyone in our wake with a serious internal shaking mess of illness I remember desperately raiding the health isle at a Wal-Mart in Washington because I didn't bring a thermometer (or any thing else illness related for that matter). Oi.

Then there was the time we escaped to Hawaii--before the little girls turned 2 and we would have to purchase airfare for 5--and the morning we were to leave we pulled two warm-with-fever 18 month olds out of bed and onto an airplane. I'd have to say, the flight was quite easy as they just wanted to snuggle and sleep. But when the fever reappeared in big sister on the road to Hana, it was not quite so fun. Once again, we had to use our best judgement and old fashioned forehead feeling to tell how she was doing.

So it should come as no surprise, to me at least, when over Christmas time I picked up Elise (who is usually "patient zero") and felt the tell-tale whole body warmth of a fever. We were visiting Grandma and Grandpa in Idaho and of course our new-weeks old cousin and her big brother had just arrived for their visit as well. This time I had at least brought some children's ibuprofen, but once again I was left without a thermometer. I like knowing how high a fever is. I like being able to track the progress. I try not to go over board with fever suppressant because I know a fever is a natural germ killer. But when the numbers creep up, I also like to be able to give my little ones some comfort.

Now Grandma had a thermometer. And old-fashioned mercury filled glass thermometer. And Elise would have none of it. She screamed and would not close her mouth, she flailed about and wouldn't let it get placed under her arm. And I wasn't even going to try the third option with a hysterical 3-year-old. At home, we have a temporal thermometer. I love it. It's an easy swipe across the forehead and you're done. Even the faster digital thermometers can't compare for ease of use. But I don't remember to throw it into a suitcase when we leave the house. Doh. So we just watched her, let her rest, and kept her away from the baby. I'm lucky that with my girls we have never experienced a febrile seasure.

It looks like I need to start packing up a better health kit.

And good thing for me there is an opportunity coming up on Thursday February, 2 to listen to Dr. Meg Meeker speak on how to help keep your kids healthy during cold and flu season. Including all about fever and taking your child's temperature. Advice I think I might need. You're invited, too. Click on the invitation link below if you're interested for full details on attending the luncheon talk.

You're invited to a Winter Warm up with Dr. Meg Meeker--Hosted by Vicks

In the spirit of full disclosure: Mad About Multiples was contacted to help spread the word about the Winter Warm Up series of talks by Dr. Meg Meeker. The event is sponsored by Vicks, the maker of a new behind-the-ear thermometer and other health related aids. The talk is open to local San Francisco Bay Area bloggers and their non-blogging guests by RSVP. Please RSVP through the above link if interested. Mad About Multiples is not hosting the event and has no other connection to Dr. Meeker or Vicks.

 

Two Parent Participation Preschools? Call me crazy.

We're taking one from the archives today, as mom Amy M. talks about having her twins in two preschools. Don't forget to join us tonight at the Cambrain Library for a parent panel discussion about all kinds of preschool options. Everyone is welcome!

~The Mad About Multiples Team

I am one of the few crazy people who signed up at two parent participation schools.  Both kids in both schools.  Yes, I know.  CRAZY.  Let me explain.

My kids (and I) were in the Together Time program at Explorer Preschool and one of the added bonuses (which I didn't initially realize) is that we had priority placement in the 2's class.  Yippee!  At the same time, I felt responsible for checking out other programs and schools in the area and had always heard rave reviews for the Los Gatos Saratoga Observation Nursery School (aka the Mountain School) so we attended the family open house and submitted an application.

This is where I should insert my rant:  it truly annoyed me to be making pre-school decisions for my children when they were ~20 months old.  Both Explorer and Mountain School are difficult to get in to for the 3's class (I was told 'virtually impossible' at Mountain School) so I felt like wherever we ended up for our 2's class would most likely be where the kids would be going to pre-school for the next 3 years.  I abhor the rat race mentality and here I was, embarking down a road that felt very, very rat-race-ish.  Mostly, I felt like I had so much more to learn about each of my children's very different personalities and learning styles and it was difficult to make a decision for them.  What kind of environment would they best thrive in?  

Double Click Tuesdays: Brotherly Love

 

 

Between all the sibling squabbling that comes with having more than one kid of the same age, are the moments that make you go "awww". Mom Jessica caught a sweet moment where Jesse (25 months) is feeding little brother Jackson (25 months). Thanks for sharing the sharing!

 

This is an original post to Mad About Multiples and is part of the Double Click Tuesdays photo series.

 

Double Click Tuesdays: Waiting For Santa

One last look back at the holidays as 11 month old Zachary (left) Sydney (right) wait for their first visit from Santa.

Thanks to mom Theresa D. for sharing her cuties. I hope Santa was good to them all.

 This is an original post to Mad About Multiples and is part of the Double Click Tuesdays photo series.

Double Click Tuesdays: Meeting Santa

Didn't get what you wanted this year from Santa?  After this photo shoot with Santa (at the Gemini Crickets Holiday cookie exchange), 2-1/2 year old Sam and Alex were pretty sure they didn't want Santa to come to their house on Christmas, presents or not!

Double Click Tuesdays: 'Crime Scene' Photo of the Day Twins Discovered How to Climb Out of Their Cribs

*names have been changed to protect the guilty (but adorable)

What happened here?  Was it a localized tornado?  A wild animal attack?  No, Dear Readers, it was two angelic 2-year-old girls, hereafter referred to as "Dis" and "Aster". 

On the morning of the incident, "Daddy" sent "Mommy" a link to a video of a baby monitor capturing a pair of twins climbing out of their crib.  Daddy thought it was funny, since his twin girls always slept securely in their cribs.  Mommy recalls thinking at the time, "Thank god we don't have that problem."  Little did she know what awaited her that very afternoon.

Naptime had seemed to go well.  Yet, when Mommy opened the door, she was stunned to see this --

Our perpetrators, Dis and Aster, had figured out how to escape their cribs. Using their newly discovered climbing skills, Dis and Aster had then scaled the changing table and opened the closet door - its latch unbabyproofed since it had appeared unreachable.  The intrepid duo then pulled every item of clothing out of the closet, every piece of tissue paper out of the box, every baby wipe out of the containers, and every single diaper out of the bag.

One can only imagine the smiles that must have been on those cherubic faces as they reveled in their new freedom.  Yet, even in their glee, they managed to stay quiet enough not to alert Mommy! 

 

TM or not TM: My Battle with Media-tie-ins and Trademarked Stuff

by Rebekah Jensen

Before any of us had kids, we all had things we were sure we would never do as parents.  We all had plans about discipline, education, and what sort of baby products we would buy.  Then, as we all know, those intentions ran smack up against the reality of actually raising a child.  We have to pick our battles very carefully, and I wanted to write about one battle that I’m – for good or ill – still trying to fight. 

Anyone who goes shopping with me will find that I’m anti-trademark.  By ‘anti-trademark’ I mean I don’t like to wear things with brand names plastered across them, or buy dishware from Martha Stewart Living™ and eat food with Twilight™ characters on it.  I am less likely to pick up a breakfast cereal when it has a celebrity on it.  I have brand loyalty, but to quality brands, not gimmicky ones.  If Spiderman™ is on a chocolate bar, I wonder if the company took shortcuts on quality, since the wrapper would sell the bar.  I don’t like being manipulated and advertising is all about manipulation – “Don’t Think, Just Buy!”

There’s the issue of quality, but a lot of it comes down to this – Why should I pay money to advertise someone else’s stuff?  I’ve never understood buying a shirt that says Hollister™, a hat that says Nike™, or sunglasses that have someone’s logo in patterns on the frames.  I’ll wear a t-shirt with someone’s name on it if I specifically want to support them, such as San Francisco Giants™ or Prius™.   I also think that if you buy into a brand, especially if you really go hog wild on a brand, you can’t help but buy into that company’s philosophy and world view.  I’d like to develop my own world view, thank you. 

Double Click Tuesdays: Everyone Loves a Holiday Parade!

 

Here are some of Gemini Crickets families who participated in the 2010 Los Gatos Holiday Parade. Lizzie's boys, William and Ronan at right, look strinkingly handsome in their caps and warm pea coats.

 

This is an original post to Mad About Multiples.

My (Multiple) Birthday Party Dilemma(s)

I love planning birthday parties – from the conception of the theme to the actually day when I get to see my ideas come to life and the resulting joy on my girls’ faces.  When I put together a party, I get to access the creative parts of my brain (which has mostly withered away by now from lack of use) and embrace the challenge of designing décor and favors, decorating cupcakes and making  piñatas on my tiny budget.  I take a sense of pride in bestowing my children with a special day, that is both personal and memorable, and I like to think that the festivities I plan are much like the parties of my childhood, the kind my mother planned for me.  But oh, how some things have changed and I’ve recently been wishing to go back to  the days when childrens' birthday parties were simpler. Much simpler…

 

As a kid of the 70s, I can remember my mom with her bouffant hair and marigold-floral mini-dress, arranging seating for musical chairs and taping up a poster for pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey and  games, and back then, there was usually a  single winner <gasp> who would receive a small prize.  I’m ashamed to admit that I avoid having games where there is one clear winner because I can’t stand the thought of children (primarily my own) disappointed and crying because THEY  didn’t win and THEY didn’t get a prize. (This explains why I’m such a fan of piñatas. Everyone’s a winner!) And I recall most parties being drop off with the general rule that only as many kids as was the age of the birthday child were to be invited. (5 year old kid = 5 guests. Easy.) But these days, it seems like most moms and/or dads and/or siblings come along, which involves a whole ‘nother level of preparation in terms of space, food, etc.  

 

Now don’t get me wrong, I LOVE being able to socialize with other parents, who are usually my friends anyway who bring their kids, but what this phenomena can equate to is that a birthday party intended for 10 children now has a guest list of 30, maybe even 40, in a twin/multiples situation! Yikes!  And I’m not going to even touch on the issue of goodie bags (aka - loads of ABSOLUTELY TREASURED plastic junk strewn everywhere and for me to step on while walking through a dark bedroom) or the question of how many gifts and to whom/from whom when going to a twins/triplets party with your twins/triplets!

 

And here’s where my *real* dilemma begins. Although my kids LOVE to attend parties at bouncy places and kiddie gyms,  I prefer to have parties in our backyard, or better yet, at the park, so that 20 kids can freely run and play and make a mess in a public sandbox.  Most importantly, this means I don’t have to crisis clean my house beforehand, nor do I need to reconstruct my house afterwards. And I get to save about $350+ in party place fees.  This has worked out wonderfully for my older singleton’s birthday in late May, however, my twin daughters’ have a December birthday. It’s cold and wet in California in the winter. (And to make things even sadder, their birthday is four days before Christmas.  Poor kids.)  So this year, I was worried that I actually may have no choice but to pay for a VENUE to hold the party because our circle of friends has grown immensely (for which I am extremely grateful) and all the little kiddies (much less their accompanying parents + siblings) won’t even come close to fitting inside our little tract house.  

 

And to further complicate things, my girls have requested a full blown pinked-out princess tea party. (theme-wise is going to be blast to plan - I’m going the non-Disney route, too.  Imagine the possibilities! Pink sparkles! Little finger sandwiches on tiered trays! Fancy dresses!)  Because then, my *seriously real* dilemma of planning a guest list sets in…and I develop hives. Is it really ok to only invite want-to-be princesses (as in “no boys”, although I truly have no problem with boys in drag)? What if the girls are one half of boy-girl twin siblings- invite only the female half? Will brother even want to go? Will mom be ticked-off that she’s now in the position of having to explain to one child why some people are invited to parties and others aren't?  And what if we have attended a friends’ birthday party in the past,  isn’t it wrong NOT to reciprocate with an invitation, which seems downright evil to me? What if the uninvited guests are my friends’ kids to whom I have an attachment, but my children do not? 

 

These are the questions that keep me up at 2am.  No. Really. When did birthday parties become so complicated?

 

And so,  I did the unthinkable. I threw my fears and social obligations out the window and let the girls decide.  And they did not chose to invite the children they see a couple of times a year at large group gatherings. Their chose *their* friends – three each, to be exact and are girls mostly from preschool, with whom they actually play. And all I can hope is that *my* friends will understand and forgive me.  And that I don’t get an ulcer worrying that they will all hold grudges and that my children will be excluded from all other friends’ future birthday festivities because of my unconscionable party planning decisions this year. Unless…maybe the weather in December won’t be so bad after all. Perhaps I *could* also host a big park playdate. With cupcakes and balloons, at least...